Giuliani reacts poorly to shooting
Thumbs down to New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani for
responding irresponsibly and insensitively to the death of Patrick
Dorismond, the third unarmed black man killed by the city’s police
in the past 13 months. Dorismond was a target of the NYPD’s "buy
and bust" tactic, an operation in which plainclothes officers
attempt to purchase drugs from suspected dealers. Once the deal is
made, other officers pounce on the suspect. According to police
accounts, when Dorismond was approached, he struggled with the
officers and was fatally shot by Detective Anthony Vasquez in the
scuffle.
Amid protests, Giuliani added insult to injury by releasing
Dorismond’s juvenile crime records, a move that is questionably
legal at best. He also asserted that the dead man was "no altar
boy" and refused to meet with his grieving family. These actions
have caused even Giuliani’s supporters to wonder whether the mayor,
who is currently embroiled in a high-profile U.S. Senate race with
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, may have gone too far.
Certainly, his behavior has only reinforced an already strained
relationship between government agencies and minority communities
in New York City. In fact, one local journalist called the affair
"a full-blown civil rights controversy."
Especially after the recent acquittal of the police officers who
shot and killed unarmed Haitian immigrant Amadou Diallo, Giuliani
should have taken a more conciliatory stance toward Dorismond’s
death. His poor handling of racial tension in the city begs the
question: How does the mayor expect to represent all of New York in
the Senate if he can’t get along with minority communities in his
own city?
Gun control deal breaks gridlock
Thumbs up to the Clinton administration and to the Smith &
Wesson gun manufacturer for breaking the gridlock imposed by the
gun lobby and congressional Republicans, and agreeing to a deal
aimed at increasing gun safety. The new measures will make it more
difficult for children and unauthorized users to fire guns by
adding external and internal trigger locks and "smart gun"
technology to new Smith & Wesson guns.
These safety features are only common sense. The recent rash of
school shootings proves that additional gun control measures are
necessary. But clearly, the deal brokered by President Clinton and
the nation’s largest gun manufacturer is nowhere near a cure-all.
While new safety measures are important, they don’t even comprise a
first step toward solving America’s gun problem.
A 1999 Gallup poll found that 62 percent of Americans favor
stricter gun control laws. Legislation that severely restricts gun
ownership as well as a nationwide licensing and registration
program are necessary to protect people from gun violence. Still,
the new safety features can only help, and they may save lives, if
only a few. Hopefully, other companies will follow Smith &
Wesson’s lead and break ranks with the National Rifle Association.
If anything, the deal demonstrates that the NRA can no longer hold
the government hostage and prevent the gun control measures that a
clear majority of Americans support.
Bill would prevent placard abuse
Thumbs up to state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D- Los
Angeles) for proposing a bill that addresses the fraudulent use of
disabled parking placards. The law would impose a mandatory minimum
fine for the wrongful use of placards, and it would require the
Department of Motor Vehicles to conduct annual random audits on
placard applicants.
The misuse of parking placards by current and former UCLA
football players, which was uncovered this summer, demonstrated to
the UCLA community, as well as the community at large, the
pervasiveness of placard abuse. Such actions are not only against
the law, but they are disrespectful to the rights of disabled
people. The proposed legislation, and especially its random audit
provision, will help solve this problem by deterring people from
illegally using placards in the future and by catching current
violators. It’s just unfortunate that a public scandal was
necessary to prompt the introduction of such a bill.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down represents the majority opinion of the
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